Josh Penry, right, talks about his reasons for throwing his support behind Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis, left, on Sunday morning in a picnic shelter at Sherwood Park in Grand Junction.

PLCLGOP21-- Scott McInnis, right, was at the Colorado State Central Committee Meeting on Saturday at Douglas County High School. Many at the State GOP Central Committee Meeting have heard that McInnis may run for Governor. McInnis has not made any public announcement about his plans. RJ Sangosti/ The Denver Post

As top Republicans began lining up behind gubernatorial hopeful Scott McInnis, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter derided his opponent’s adoption of a new conservative agenda that debuts today and defended his own record on economic issues.

State Sen. Minority Leader Josh Penry, once a gubernatorial candidate himself, endorsed his former GOP rival at a news conference Sunday in Grand Junction.

Former Congressman Tom Tancredo, who had also vowed to run for governor, said he will announce his support for McInnis today, largely clearing the path to the GOP nomination.

Both would-be candidates exited after gaining assurances that McInnis would hold to a new conservative platform that all three helped develop along with other GOP leaders who hoped to avoid previous election-cycle mistakes by uniting the party early.

At a Sunday-night news conference, Ritter characterized the Republicans’ multipoint agenda as “just (being) against things” and cast McInnis’ support of it as buckling to pressure from Republican leaders.

“There’s not anyone who has sat down with me and said I have to agree with (an) agenda to be my party’s candidate,” Ritter said. “We’re keeping our focus on creating jobs and will let our actions speak for themselves.”

Ritter’s talk has toughened as the Ritter-McInnis matchup has become more certain and Republicans have focused their attacks on the incumbent instead of one another. Political novice and Evergreen businessman Dan Maes remains McInnis’ sole challenger for the GOP nomination.

McInnis spokesman Sean Duffy was nonchalant about Ritter’s criticism.

“We expect these snarky comments because they’re panicked,” Duffy said. “Party unity is the last thing they expected. They expected a year-long circular firing squad, and now they have to run on their record.”

The agenda out today — dubbed the Contract for Colorado — includes such promises as limiting state spending and requiring employers to verify new hires’ immigration status.

The plan specifically vows to undo a number of Ritter’s policies, including an executive order that allows state employees to unionize and a recent increase in vehicle-registration fees.

Ritter defended his record, touting improvements to renewable-energy efforts, education and the state’s business climate.

The platform’s focus is largely on fiscal issues, though it also outlines reinstating a ban on state funding for health providers that support abortion rights, such as Planned Parenthood.

The platform was forged during two weeks’ worth of meetings among top Republicans, who also included former Gov. Bill Owens, state legislative leaders and state GOP chairman Dick Wadhams. It is planned to be a ticketwide agenda that lends its message to dozens of Republican candidates at all levels, Penry said.

“What this does on a political level is allows Republicans to focus resources not just in beating Bill Ritter but in taking back the state House and Senate,” he said. “Three weeks ago, those words were inconceivable. That’s where my effort is going to be.”

Democrats Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis have joined their Republican congressional colleagues in backing legislation that would allow the Bureau of Land Management to relocate it headquarters to the West, and possibly to Colorado.

Two conservative taxpayer advocacy groups filed suit Wednesday against new Denver campaign finance disclosure rules for issue advocacy committees that they say will violate the privacy rights of their donors.